Beginning today, museum-goers can head to the Museum Day Live! website to download one free ticket, good for two people, for Smithsonian magazine’s 13th annual Museum Day Live!. Each ticket grants the ticketholder, and one guest, free access to any participating museum on September 23. One ticket is permitted per email address.

Photo Credit: American Museum Of Natural History

This year, Museum Day Live! is partnering with Microsoft to create special interactive lesson plans using Minecraft: Education Edition. Participating museums can download the lesson plans to enhance the Museum Day Live! experience at their facility. The Minecraft: Education Edition extensions are based on Smithsonian materials and are available on the Museum Day Live! website. Following the event, Microsoft will provide schools with access to the Minecraft: Education Edition extensions.

Smithsonian Media is comprised of its flagship publication, Smithsonian magazine, Air & Space magazine, Smithsonian Books, and the Smithsonian Media Digital Network. In addition, Smithsonian Media oversees the Smithsonian Institution’s interest in the Smithsonian Channel, a joint venture between the Smithsonian Institution and CBS/Showtime. Smithsonian Media is a division of Smithsonian Enterprises, the revenue-generating business unit of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum and research complex consisting of 20 museums and galleries, the National Zoological Park, and nine research facilities. Approximately 30 million people from around the world visit the museums annually. (smithsonian.com / si.edu)

Announcing a museum stop while you’re on a family vacation may inspire groans from the back seat, but the slate of current exhibits looks so good that you might not even have to promise a trip to the gift shop afterward.